


A Risk of Tomorrow

by booktick



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood Kink, Blood and Gore, Emotional Manipulation, M/M, Miscommunication, Programmer Handsome Jack, Siren Rhys, also jack will be called john for a sweet bit until he changes his name to jack, alternate origin story of ceo jack, borderlands pre-sequel spoilers, but john is jack so...yea, cause jack's like that apparently, he's gonna destroy pandora, jack is the worst, just a bit, look at him go, whoops, with rhys at his side
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-23 07:12:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13782417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/booktick/pseuds/booktick
Summary: "You and me, kiddo! We're gonna shake things up on Pandora."





	A Risk of Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own none of this franchise.
> 
> A/N: First Borderlands fic. I have no idea what I'm doing.

* * *

The walk to the steps were the least frightening thing in the room. He was like...eighty percent sure. Maybe eighty five. Rhys had come to try and convince his boss to let him finish coding for the new Hyperion Outpost on Pandora. Instead, he found himself stiff as the dead at the office doors a few moments ago. After a deep breath, he took a few cautious steps. Each step slow and steady, despite his hands that balled into fists. As he got closer, thanks to the growing storm outside Helios, he could see John a lot better than he could the rest of the room.

"John?"

His fellow programmer, John, sat at their boss' desk, boots up and red splattered on his flesh. As Rhys got half way up the steps, he looked at John's hands. The red was terribly dark, caked in blood. This wasn't exactly fresh but it wasn't old either. John had been at this...whatever this was...for a while. Hell, John's nails were chipped and several cuts scattered the knuckles. But the red...the red continued down from John's hands to the desk itself. 

If he just kept calling it the red...then he didn't have to admit what John had done. He lifted his head, anything to not look at John's hands. John, this whole time, had a shit eating grin on his face...his face... _holy shit_. Rhys took another step, and just as he had been at the office door moments before, he stiffened.

A crack of purple slapped across the black sky from outside the office's window. The lurking planet that hung in space seemed only to brighten for all of Helios to witness. It was as if it had seen what had happened. The silence had been what Rhys found the most unsettling at the moment. Not even the blood...which was pretty gross. But John knew how to break the ice even in the worst situations.

"You and me, kiddo! We're gonna shake things up on Pandora."

What the fu...

That had Rhys' whole body go on high alert. His Echo-Eye tried to search for anything in could to resolve the situation or at least find clues as to what Jack meant. Judging from the blood and broken glass scattered on the floor near it, there wouldn't be a way to go back to before. A few bloody handprints stained the desk, two different sets or fingerprints.

His scan lifted to John's face...oh, shit. He had almost forgotten in his train of panic thinking. That was...new. What looked to be a mask was now stuck to John's face. Sure, Rhys hadn't seen John in a while but he didn't think John had changed this much. It didn't seem terribly new from the looks of it and that only made Rhys feel worst. Some friend he was to not even check in on him until now. But John just grinned, red soaked lips and throat bare except for what looked like claw marks. Someone had fought back...tried and failed.

The Echo-Eye continued to scan, confirming it was definitely blood and... _oh_...it was their boss'. It eventually found the body after Rhys looked past John's chair. Oh. Oh... _shit_. Oh shit, this was bad. This was worst than bad.

A crooked arm and bent head was all that was needed for Rhys stomach to tighten up further. _Harold Tassiter._ Maybe Mr. Tassiter had a body double! Lots of big important CEOs had doubles! But judging from Jack's stare...it probably was Tassiter. Rhys had already felt ill at the sight of blood but to have a body go with it... _Well, shit_. Rhys looked back up and John was right in front of him. His own body reacted fast, shoulders stiffened and fingers curled into fists. His small yelp did not go unnoticed.

"John, please...tell me that isn't Mr. Tas-"

" _Ahhhh_ , that's not important, Rhys." John waved his hand.

"John-"

"Now what have I told you to call me, Rhysie?" Thick fingers tucked Rhys hair, stained it with blood.

"I don't..." Rhys looked over John's face for any sign of guilt or panic but...there was nothing.

"Jack!" John explained, louder than a man who just killed his boss should shout.

 _Okaaay_...

"Call me Jack. John is so... _old_." John added with a wink...no, it wasn't John anymore.

 _Jack_. Jack was his name. Jack. Jaaaack. It felt...weird but not exactly bad. Jack. What was the saying? Something about not knowing Jack. Well, Rhys sure as hell thought he knew Jack. John...when Jack was still John he kne--it wasn't important. What was important and gross as hell was the corpse on the floor and Jack acting like it was time for celebration.

"Hey," fingers snapped in front of Rhys' face "You still there, kitten?"

Rhys stomach dropped lower, along with his heart.

"You, uh, faded out there. Look like you'e never seen a dead body!" Jack laughed, one of those from the belly laughs too.

Rhys gave out a laugh that cracked and was from pure panic. His heart thudded harder against his ribs. Jack ruffled Rhys hair, which wet the locks of hair a dark red. He hadn't believed Jack much when he said it was a misunderstanding.

A misunderstanding is running into someone with coffee... _but_ _this_...this was something entirely different. He couldn't find his courage amongst the scattered pieces of glass on the floor. As for his dignity...Jack had that covered.

"Helios won't know what to do with us by the time we're finished with it!" Jack slapped his back far too hard, "It'll be too late by then but, hell, an adventure's an adventure for a reason, right?"

Jack stepped back, bloodstained hand sliding across Rhys' back. The older man descended down the opposite set of stairs to a series of shelves. The shelves were littered with their boss...their former boss' collectibles. Jack had placed a red hand to his chin and seemed to take a moment to be in the deepest of thoughts.

"Hey, you don't gotta worry about the mess, 'kay, beautiful?"

Rhys' breath caught in his throat.

"I see how you got that funny little wrinkles around your eyes and doe eyed stare. I'll get a janitor in here and it'll be like the office is brand spankin' new."

And Rhys nearly choked on his own breath at that. It could have been the spit though. He was swallowing a lot since he met Jack but it usually wasn't out of fear and panic...okay, not like bad fear and bad panic. Was there a good fear and good panic? Rhys shook his head and tried his hardest to pay attention. This was why he didn't go on Pandora when Jack asked him to.

"But, uhhh, yeah. You don't gotta worry. You won't take the blame for this, alright? This was aaaall Jack, _baby_."

Jack tossed him a quick pistol fingers before he turned back towards the shelves on the wall. Rhys did not throw one back at him. This was not a pistol fingers sort of situation. Even though Rhys wished it were. He missed his codes.

"Maybe you shouldn't-" Rhys murmured. 

With one hard swipe of an arm, Jack knocked off all the priceless artifacts onto the floor. The items landed with loud clanks and some shattered once they hit. There wouldn't be any chance to glue those back together. Not that it mattered much. Rhys doubted Mr. Dead from Death over there wouldn't be complaining any time soon.

" _Ah_. There we go." Jack sounded all to smug about that.

Rhys watched as Jack reached down into the darkness that obscured that part of the room to get...whatever it was Jack was searching for. It was hard to tell in this light, even with a another slap of purple across the office window from the storm that was forming. After a moment of searching, Jack straightened his back and had placed something on the now bare shelves.

Rhys decided to stare at Jack's back. The jacket that was now blood soaked still had the large H for Hyperion on it. No doubt Jack would just order another. Hell, Jack might even wear the one he had on now for dramatic effect. He couldn't be sure with the dead body and all. Not that Rhys was a stranger to death. This was Hyperion after all but...

He could see the chunks of flesh on Jack's clothes. He had thought it was just blood. Let that be the worst of it, right? But it looked like some sort of...matter was there too each time Rhys got closer to the man. He felt like dry heaving into his own hands at the sight. Instead he just stared at Jack and stared until it burned his eyes.

_Jesus, this was brutal._

He could always rush Jack. Tell the others he had arrived too late, that he had tried to subdue Jack as soon as possible. But this was John...Jack...whoever the fuck this guy was now. Rhys dashed away his reckless thoughts and mustered up some form of courage as he descended the same steps Jack had moments before. His shoulders remained rock hard, arms stuck to his sides.

"Hey, uh...whatcha got there, buddy?"

Buddy, ol' pal, please don't butcher him too.

He stopped once he could smell Jack's cologne and practically taste the rust from how strong the blood reeked on Jack. He swallowed the bile and it settled in his ribs. One of his arms peeled off his side to reach out towards Jack, at the slowest pace of course. He had heard sudden movements could...further unsettle people in intense situations like these.

"We're friends, right, Rhys?"

He didn't expect that.

He didn't expect that at all...

Jack had turned by then, his smile had faded away. He even cupped Rhys face in his hands. The smell of the blood crawled up and settled within Rhys' nose. Jack had dropped his eyelids as he stared back at Rhys. The duo shared eye contact for a few more breaths before Rhys looked at Jack's chest instead. It was better than having to meet Jack's eye.

" _Heeey_." Jack's voice was hushed now, "Hey, it's gonna be just fine."

Jack let one hand fall from Rhys' face and pat Rhys' chest instead. It left bloody prints on Rhys' clothes. There wouldn't be any hiding that from the universe. He would have to burn each piece of clothing. Damn it, he liked this shirt.

"You wouldn't leave me, right, kiddo? I mean, who else is gonna stop the bad guys?"

"What...What did you _do_ , Jack?"

"Huh? Oh? To weak knees over there? Man, you shoulda been there, Rhys. He was all like _ahhhh_ and I was like _haha_! It was great. He's never taken me serious, y'know?" Jack wiped his eyes with the hand that had been at Rhys' chest.

"Had my hands around his throat and strangled the shit out of him. Felt good. Felt _right._  He won't be makin' that same mistake of underestimating me, huh?...well, cause he's dead and all."

"John-"

" _Jack_."

"Jack, I mean- _Why?_ "

Jack blinked.

"Why not?"

Rhys' head turned back over his shoulder, where what was left of his former boss remained. The body must be starting to get cold, the guy would just be a voice on tape now. There wouldn't be anything to remember him by, no statues or signs or anything... _but Jack?_  He got a bad feeling that Jack wouldn't settle for just being a voice on a tape. 

" _Hey_." The humor had faded fast from Jack and was replaced with a heaviness and heat.

"I'm just one guy...a _handsome_ fuckin' guy. _Like really handsome, y'know?_ Get it? _Handsome Jack?_ Cause I'm so damn handsome."

He turned his head back towards Jack but didn't look up. His flesh burned, ached at the each touch from Jack. There was another hard belly laugh from Jack after the handsome comments. The laugh was more of an eruption than a laugh. It turned into a wheeze that eventually faded into a sigh.

"But I am just a guy. One guy. And a guy like me needs a team. You on my team, Rhys?"

His head was tilted back up with one hand going to his chin. He didn't want to face John...Jack... _fuck_. Eventually, Rhys forced himself to meet Jack's gaze. That familiar smug smirk seemed to double as Jack watched him and he watched Jack. He had been right...there wasn't any going back.

Jack's thumb ran over his parted lips, smeared red over the flesh. By now Rhys could actually taste the blood and not just imagine how it tasted. It didn't help anything, in fact, it further...disturbed him? Disturbed was what he  _should_ think, right? Vaughn would say he should be disturbed that Not-John Jack just rubbed blood on his lips and then smacked his own lips. 

Right?

"And we can't just let Hyperion take you, right? I mean, jeez, you're one of a kind for a reason, Rhys." Jack let go of him immediately, as if Rhys had burned him.

"I'm _already_ working for Hyperion, Jack." Rhys huffed softly.

With that snarky reply and glare, Jack had grabbed his wrist tight and yanked his arm up high. Jack tugged down the sleeve just enough so Rhys' tattoos showed. He frowned at the exposure, tried to pull his arm out of Jack's grip. Jack had been the only one that Rhys had told. Vaughn didn't even know! And they were bros! Jack was an assho-

"Now if _I_ were in charge of Hyperion?" Jack ignored Rhys' glare "No one would even think of touching you. I wouldn't let anyone use you, Rhys."

 _No one_.

Rhys' frown shifted a fraction or two. It wasn't quite a smile but it was close. He had considered it a quite a bit actually. What Hyperion might do if they knew he was a Siren. It had always ended with him hating himself and kicking a wall until a Claptrap told him it was against the rules. He didn't need a ticket.

"So. You with me?" Jack raised his eyebrows some.

"Yeah...Yeah, I'm with you, Jack."

Rhys watched as the older man walked back over to the shelves. Rhys could see things better with how much closer he was now and the growing outside storm had those purple streaks coming at faster rates. They lit up the room pass the desk to the walls now. There on one of the shelves was a pair of familiar eyes that stared back at them. Rhys felt his knees buckle.

"Now. _Ain't that a sight for sore eyes?_ " Jack snickered.


End file.
